PHOENIX -- The Detroit Lions drafted a left tackle in the first round of the 2012 draft. In 2013, their longtime left tackle retired. But it's apparently not as simple as connecting the dots between the retirement of Jeff Backus and the presumed ascendance of Riley Reiff at the position.

Speaking to Detroit-area reporters at the NFL owners meeting, general manager Martin Mayhew said "I could see [Reiff] at left tackle" this season but left open the possibility he could play another position as well. Mayhew also touted inexperienced backups Jason Fox and Corey Hilliard as promising, and noted that Reiff can play several positions.

Your best left tackle on the roster should play the position, even if he can also play guard. It's much easier to find a guard than a left tackle, generally speaking. The Lions' indecision on Reiff's position could indicate mixed beliefs on his attitude as a long-term left tackle.

On the other hand, Mayhew might simply not want to telegraph his draft strategy at No. 5 overall. If he names Reiff the starter, it probably rules out the possibility that he would draft a left tackle in the first round.

Lions' Riley Reiff remains a blocker without a position -- for nowMarch 19, 2013

PHOENIX -- For now, Riley Reiff remains a man without a position.

Lions general manager Martin Mayhew said at the owners meetings Monday that no determination had been made where Reiff would play this season.

Left tackle, right tackle and right guard are options.

Quote:

"On the one hand, it's great that he can play so many positions," Mayhew said. "On the other hand, it's really causing a problem because he probably wants to know where he plays more than anybody else so he can start preparing himself mentally for that. But I guess we'll have to wait and see. I could see him at left tackle, but we'll have to kind of wait and see how things go."

Touted as the left tackle of the future when the Lions drafted him 23rd overall last year, Reiff has a clear path to that position if the Lions want him protecting quarterback Matthew Stafford's blind side.

Jeff Backus retired last week after 12 years as a starter, and the other tackles on the roster -- Jason Fox and Corey Hilliard -- have five career starts at right tackle between them.

Reiff made one start as a fill-in for Backus last year and played mostly as the sixth offensive lineman, but the Lions are still figuring out how best to set their line for the fall.

Left guard Rob Sims and center Dominic Raiola are the only returning starters, and Mayhew said after the season the Lions allowed too much pressure up the middle, which caused some of Stafford's mechanical problems.

If Reiff plays right guard, where he'd help thwart the middle pass rush and play a key role in the screen game, Fox is the leading candidate to play left tackle, Hilliard would play right tackle, and Bill Nagy could compete for time at center.

If Reiff plays left tackle, Fox and Hilliard would compete at right tackle, and Nagy could play guard.

Of course, the Lions could draft a lineman with the No. 5 overall pick or in later rounds. They sent three talent evaluators, including senior personnel executive Brian Xanders, to see Eric Fisher at Central Michigan's pro day last week.

If a rookie plays on the left side, Reiff could play right tackle or guard.

"We're still acquiring players, whether through free agency or through the draft or any other trade possibilities," Mayhew said. "A lot of things are in motion, and because he can play four spots, he's sort of that moving piece at this point."

Mayhew reiterated his faith in Fox and Hilliard on Monday, something he has expressed on multiple occasions this off-season, although both lack significant experience.

Fox, a fourth-round pick in 2010, missed most of his first two seasons with foot and knee injuries. Hilliard did not dress for a game last year.

"I think we have worked on that area over the last couple years of adding guys and drafting guys" for the offensive line, Mayhew said. "It's an interesting angle that we love receivers and we draft so many receivers and we drafted four receivers in the last four years.

"Well, did you know we drafted four offensive tackles in the last four years, too? So I think that we've been making investments in that position over a period of time, and we'll probably continue to keep doing that."

The front office never said anything about Reiff to guard, it was a report. You get a lot of those during draft season.

There were several "reports" and the information allegedly came from the front office...

Can you say smokescreen?

Smoke screen which way Wags?

None of this says anything. Mayhew says he considers him at LT, and considers him elsewhere.

IMO his play, and lack of play at either OT position OR as a starting OG tells me that the coaching staff knows he struggled last year.

Further, I've never sold short the idea that the current administration is completely incompetent and would start Reiff at LT to the peril of the organization.

March 19th, 2013, 11:51 am

TheRealWags

Modmin Dude

Joined: December 31st, 2004, 9:55 amPosts: 12296

Re: Backus Retires

wjb21ndtown wrote:

TheRealWags wrote:

wjb21ndtown wrote:

kdsberman wrote:

The front office never said anything about Reiff to guard, it was a report. You get a lot of those during draft season.

There were several "reports" and the information allegedly came from the front office...

Can you say smokescreen?

Smoke screen which way Wags?

None of this says anything. Mayhew says he considers him at LT, and considers him elsewhere.

IMO his play, and lack of play at either OT position OR as a starting OG tells me that the coaching staff knows he struggled last year.

Further, I've never sold short the idea that the current administration is completely incompetent and would start Reiff at LT to the peril of the organization.

I guess we'll find out next month

_________________

Quote:

Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right....

March 19th, 2013, 12:23 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Backus Retires

TheRealWags wrote:

wjb21ndtown wrote:

TheRealWags wrote:

wjb21ndtown wrote:

kdsberman wrote:

The front office never said anything about Reiff to guard, it was a report. You get a lot of those during draft season.

There were several "reports" and the information allegedly came from the front office...

Can you say smokescreen?

Smoke screen which way Wags?

None of this says anything. Mayhew says he considers him at LT, and considers him elsewhere.

IMO his play, and lack of play at either OT position OR as a starting OG tells me that the coaching staff knows he struggled last year.

Further, I've never sold short the idea that the current administration is completely incompetent and would start Reiff at LT to the peril of the organization.

I guess we'll find out next month

We'll know that they felt he's not an LT by pick #5, if we draft a DE/CB we won't know if they made the right choice until mid-September.

March 19th, 2013, 12:33 pm

LionsFan4Life

Fired Head Coach (0-16 record)

Joined: October 30th, 2004, 12:30 pmPosts: 2205Location: Austin, TX

Re: Backus Retires

I take it as this... IF one of the top LTs fall to 5.. they'll take him.. and move Reiff to either RG or RT.. if neither of them fall.. then they'll roll with Reiff at LT.

_________________

NEVER GIVE UP!

March 19th, 2013, 12:40 pm

jrd66

National Champion

Joined: February 10th, 2005, 6:52 pmPosts: 850Location: Linden, MI

Re: Backus Retires

wjb21ndtown wrote:

TheRealWags wrote:

wjb21ndtown wrote:

TheRealWags wrote:

wjb21ndtown wrote:

kdsberman wrote:

The front office never said anything about Reiff to guard, it was a report. You get a lot of those during draft season.

There were several "reports" and the information allegedly came from the front office...

Can you say smokescreen?

Smoke screen which way Wags?

None of this says anything. Mayhew says he considers him at LT, and considers him elsewhere.

IMO his play, and lack of play at either OT position OR as a starting OG tells me that the coaching staff knows he struggled last year.

Further, I've never sold short the idea that the current administration is completely incompetent and would start Reiff at LT to the peril of the organization.

I guess we'll find out next month

We'll know that they felt he's not an LT by pick #5, if we draft a DE/CB we won't know if they made the right choice until mid-September.

This is true. As I have said before, I think Reiff and Fox are the tackles in 2013. This allows the Mayhew Schwartz combo to look for a better player at another spot for 2013. They may not have long term stability in their minds and need to win now. If they plug those guys in who they claim can play, they can get Milliner, Jarvis Jones or a DE to fill another position with pick #5. IT might not be the best long term move, but they might be fired soon if they do not get better this year.

_________________OK. Schwartz is fired, the fans are happy, now what?

March 19th, 2013, 5:40 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Backus Retires

jrd66 wrote:

This is true. As I have said before, I think Reiff and Fox are the tackles in 2013. This allows the Mayhew Schwartz combo to look for a better player at another spot for 2013. They may not have long term stability in their minds and need to win now. If they plug those guys in who they claim can play, they can get Milliner, Jarvis Jones or a DE to fill another position with pick #5. IT might not be the best long term move, but they might be fired soon if they do not get better this year.

I agree completely JRD...

And I'll add... This administration has been one of excuses. They seem to spend as much time looking for a way to point the finger elsewhere, as they do game planning to actually win games. Last year it was the refs and "injuries" that caused us to lose, next year it will likely be blamed on OT play and more injuries (after Fox, Nagy, Nate, Broyles and Bush miss time). The argument will shift to "we relied on some guys that couldn't hold up to their end of the bargain," but the real issue is that they're not good at finding talent and plugging in guys that are capable of succeeding into proper holes. They're great at passing the buck, but it only lasts so long.

This is true. As I have said before, I think Reiff and Fox are the tackles in 2013. This allows the Mayhew Schwartz combo to look for a better player at another spot for 2013. They may not have long term stability in their minds and need to win now. If they plug those guys in who they claim can play, they can get Milliner, Jarvis Jones or a DE to fill another position with pick #5. IT might not be the best long term move, but they might be fired soon if they do not get better this year.

I agree completely JRD...

And I'll add... This administration has been one of excuses. They seem to spend as much time looking for a way to point the finger elsewhere, as they do game planning to actually win games. Last year it was the refs and "injuries" that caused us to lose, next year it will likely be blamed on OT play and more injuries (after Fox, Nagy, Nate, Broyles and Bush miss time). The argument will shift to "we relied on some guys that couldn't hold up to their end of the bargain," but the real issue is that they're not good at finding talent and plugging in guys that are capable of succeeding into proper holes. They're great at passing the buck, but it only lasts so long.

I'd be really happy if they would just go all out and trust their draft picks to play. It's a win-win for us fans, they either play well and we are happy or they play awful/get injured and everyone gets fired.

I think it says a lot about Mayhew and Schwartz confidence in themselves and if they continue trying to avoid playing their draft picks.

March 19th, 2013, 6:11 pm

wjb21ndtown

Re: Backus Retires

rao wrote:

wjb21ndtown wrote:

jrd66 wrote:

This is true. As I have said before, I think Reiff and Fox are the tackles in 2013. This allows the Mayhew Schwartz combo to look for a better player at another spot for 2013. They may not have long term stability in their minds and need to win now. If they plug those guys in who they claim can play, they can get Milliner, Jarvis Jones or a DE to fill another position with pick #5. IT might not be the best long term move, but they might be fired soon if they do not get better this year.

I agree completely JRD...

And I'll add... This administration has been one of excuses. They seem to spend as much time looking for a way to point the finger elsewhere, as they do game planning to actually win games. Last year it was the refs and "injuries" that caused us to lose, next year it will likely be blamed on OT play and more injuries (after Fox, Nagy, Nate, Broyles and Bush miss time). The argument will shift to "we relied on some guys that couldn't hold up to their end of the bargain," but the real issue is that they're not good at finding talent and plugging in guys that are capable of succeeding into proper holes. They're great at passing the buck, but it only lasts so long.

I'd be really happy if they would just go all out and trust their draft picks to play. It's a win-win for us fans, they either play well and we are happy or they play awful/get injured and everyone gets fired.

I think it says a lot about Mayhew and Schwartz confidence in themselves and if they continue trying to avoid playing their draft picks.

I agree completely.

March 21st, 2013, 1:23 pm

Pablo

RIP Killer

Joined: August 6th, 2004, 9:21 amPosts: 9596Location: Dallas

Re: Backus Retires

It is easy to sit back as a fan and take a long term look at a team. It is another thing to have your million dollar job at risk in the short run if your team doesn't perform well over the course of 16 games.

Very few coaches in this league can afford to take a hard, long-term look at their clubs. Those that can obviously have a huge advantage over the majority of teams in the NFL.

It is easy to sit back as a fan and take a long term look at a team. It is another thing to have your million dollar job at risk in the short run if your team doesn't perform well over the course of 16 games.

Very few coaches in this league can afford to take a hard, long-term look at their clubs. Those that can obviously have a huge advantage over the majority of teams in the NFL.

The problem with this is, Mayhew had a blank check and key to the City for his first four years, he had no worries, but he threw that away. He could have set the team up for long-term success, but he chose a method that led to a flash in the pan, putting himself on the hotseat.

We lost whatever success and momentum we had in 2011 with the 2012 offseason. You could say that Mayhew chose a "conservative" approach and brought back the same team, but what he really did was failed to manage that team in every respect. He didn't manage the personnel, he didn't manage the salary cap, and he didn't manage the coaches. He quite literally chose "non-management" as his management strategy, and that's flat out ridiculous. His antics last offseason literally set this team back 2-3 years. That's inexcusable.

It is easy to sit back as a fan and take a long term look at a team. It is another thing to have your million dollar job at risk in the short run if your team doesn't perform well over the course of 16 games.

Very few coaches in this league can afford to take a hard, long-term look at their clubs. Those that can obviously have a huge advantage over the majority of teams in the NFL.

Mayhew is the guy that claims every year to be building with the long term in mind. He will never be successful if he and the coaches are not willing to trust the players he drafts.